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The system’s leaders have concluded that they couldn’t meet their ambitious growth targets if forced to adhere to faith-based care guidelines in all of its facilities.

According to CEO and president Lloyd Dean, who spoke to USA Today, he’s had to step away from potential deals several times when partners questioned their role in a Catholic system. This way, it should be much easier for CHW to work with other systems and acquire medical practices, observers say.

I expect to see other faith-based chains consider similar moves over the next year or two. As we’ve noted in this forum before, having to adhere to religiously-based rules can be a bit of a hassle for secular organizations, especially those that hope to compete in tight markets. Mergers between the two sides can become a Tylenol headache very quickly.

Consider the struggles the University of Louisville (KY) went through in an effort to merge with Catholic-owned St. Mary’s Healthcare, forcing it propose build a “hospital in a hospital” to provide forbidden services. It makes my eyes water just to think about it. With health reform afoot, mergers a fact of life and new partnership models emerging every day, CHW may have done the only thing it could do.